Many computer information systems organize hierarchically organized information, or information entries, according to links or references between the entries. An example of such information entries are bulletin board posts that reference or reply to other posts. As an organizational aid, posts that reference or reply to another post are often nested or positioned directly under it to form a “thread.” Threads are organizational trees with an initial post at a top level and branches to all the responsive posts, which may themselves have branches as well. Such information systems may be called threaded information environments and can include information from the World Wide Web, Usenet newsgroups, email lists, etc.
With reference to Usenet newsgroups, for example, typical threaded information systems can have dozens or even hundreds of entries or posts. A common visualization format for a newsgroup is a vertical text listing of posts arranged generally according to the times they were posted. Threads are illustrated by positioning responsive posts in time sequence immediately under the original post in the thread.
Conventional computer displays or visualizations for such information environments can display only a small portion of the total posts in a group. This limitation arises from the use of text characters to represent each of the posts. Text characters are formed of predefined pixel arrays, which have different sizes according to the font (or typeset) and font size. Font sizes of between 9 points and 12 points are commonly used and discernible in computer display applications, although font sizes as small as 8 points may be discernible by some users. Text characters in an 8 point font size are formed of pixel arrays with vertical dimensions of 5–8 pixels. In addition, successive lines of text in a relatively dense single line spacing are typically separated by 7–8 pixels. As a result, about 16 pixels are required for each line of text referencing a post in a conventional threaded message system.
Accordingly, high-density computer display visualization formats are provided to improve the visualization of large amounts of threaded information. These visualization formats are suitable for a wide variety of threaded information environments including newsgroups, threaded Web discussions, chats, e-mail inboxes, etc.
In one implementation, the threaded message visualization represents each post with a generally one-dimensional or narrow entry line. The entry lines are horizontal and arranged vertically in substantially the same indented threading arrangement as the text of a conventional prior art visualization. Each of the entry lines is generally one-dimensional or narrow in that it has a vertical height or thickness insufficient to render text characters (e.g., 1–3 pixels). In other implementations, the appearance (e.g., color), length, and position of entry lines can represent additional selected information while maintaining the generally one-dimensional character of the entry lines.
Additional objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the detailed description of the preferred embodiment thereof, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.